basketball diplomacy

White House Slams Dennis Rodman

Says North Korea should be focused on its people's well-being.

It doesn't sound like President Obama will not be giving Kim Jong-un a call any time soon. On Monday, press secretary Jay Carney denounced former NBA player Dennis Rodman's bizarre trip to North Korea last week to dine and watch basketball with the Hermit Kingdom's leader—a man Rodman later professed to loving. “Instead of spending money on celebrity sporting events to entertain the elites of that country, the North Korean regime should focus on the well-being of its own people, who have been starved, imprisoned, and denied their human rights,” Carney said. The State Department has declined to debrief Rodman, and struck a similar tone in comments a few days ago. So much for basketball diplomacy.